Random personality generator

How the personality generator works

Each roll takes one core trait, one strength, one flaw, one quirk, one fear, and one value. The strength and the flaw never cancel each other: you will not get Honesty with Secrecy, or Calm with Temper. Everything else can meet, which is where the interesting people come from: a warm person who holds grudges, or a bold one who fears being ordinary.

Use it for a novel, a screenplay, a tabletop character, a role-play, or a Sim. For a name and a look, add the random character generator. For the three traits that The Sims 4 uses, roll the Sims 4 trait generator. The parts are ours, written for this page.

Every part the generator can roll

Core traits (16)

• Warm. makes everyone feel welcome, and remembers names.
• Blunt. says the true thing before the kind thing.
• Restless. cannot sit still, and starts more than they finish.
• Steady. is the calm one in every crisis.
• Curious. asks one more question than anyone else.
• Guarded. listens a lot, and tells little.
• Playful. turns every chore into a game.
• Proud. would rather fail alone than ask for help.
• Gentle. speaks softly, and hates to see anyone hurt.
• Driven. has a plan for the next ten years, and a backup.
• Dreamy. lives half in the present, and half in a story.
• Wry. sees the joke in everything, including themselves.
• Loyal. picks a side early, and stays on it.
• Anxious. rehearses every conversation twice.
• Bold. says yes first, and thinks later.
• Thoughtful. writes the card that everyone keeps.

Strengths (12)

• Patience. can wait out anyone and anything.
• Humor. can defuse a fight with one line.
• Memory. never forgets a face, a date, or a debt.
• Honesty. people trust them with the hard news.
• Grit. keeps going after the third failure.
• Empathy. knows what someone feels before they say it.
• Focus. can work for six hours without looking up.
• Charm. gets the table, the deal, and the second date.
• Craft. fixes, builds, or cooks better than the professionals.
• Courage. is the first to speak up when something is wrong.
• Generosity. gives time and money without keeping score.
• Calm. lowers the temperature of every room.

Flaws (12)

• Jealousy. keeps count of what others have.
• Procrastination. does the thing the night before, every time.
• Stubbornness. would rather be wrong than change their mind in public.
• Vanity. checks every reflection they pass.
• Impatience. finishes other people's sentences.
• Secrecy. hides small things for no reason.
• Temper. goes from calm to shouting in one sentence.
• Pessimism. expects the worst, so they are never surprised.
• People-pleasing. says yes, then resents it.
• Grudges. remembers a slight from ten years ago.
• Recklessness. spends, drives, and speaks too fast.
• Avoidance. goes quiet instead of having the hard talk.

Quirks (14)

• Collector. collects something odd, such as hotel pens or train tickets.
• Night owl. does their best thinking after midnight.
• Hummer. hums without noticing, mostly old TV themes.
• Lists. writes a list for everything, and loses the list.
• Early bird. is up at 5 a.m. and asleep by 9 p.m..
• Talks to animals. has full conversations with every dog on the street.
• Superstitious. has a lucky shirt, and wears it to every interview.
• Food order. orders the same dish at every restaurant.
• Doodler. draws on every napkin and every margin.
• Counter. counts stairs, tiles, and steps without meaning to.
• Old phone. keeps a ten-year-old phone and refuses to upgrade.
• Over-apologizer. says sorry to furniture they bump into.
• Sock drawer. sorts socks by color, and nothing else in the house.
• Movie quoter. answers questions with lines from films.

Fears (12)

• Being forgotten. being forgotten by the people they love.
• Heights. heights, including the second floor of a mall.
• Failure. failing in front of people who warned them.
• Commitment. signing anything longer than a year.
• Crowds. a crowd they cannot get out of.
• Silence. a quiet room with nothing to do.
• Illness. getting sick the way a parent did.
• Poverty. going back to having nothing.
• Water. deep water, even in a pool.
• Being ordinary. turning out ordinary.
• Conflict. any raised voice.
• Change. a move, a new job, or a new friend group.

Values (12)

• Family. family first, even the difficult members.
• Freedom. the freedom to leave at any time.
• Honesty. the truth, even when it costs.
• Success. being the best at one thing.
• Kindness. being kind when no one is watching.
• Loyalty. standing by the people who stood by them.
• Beauty. a beautiful home, a beautiful meal, a beautiful day.
• Adventure. a new place every year.
• Security. savings, a steady job, and a locked door.
• Justice. fairness, and a fight when it is missing.
• Knowledge. learning one new thing every day.
• Faith. a belief that gives the week its shape.

How to write a character from a roll

Start with the flaw, because the flaw makes the plot. Ask what the flaw costs the person in the first scene. Then let the strength be the thing that gets them out, late and at a price. The fear is what the story threatens. The value is what they refuse to trade, until the end makes them choose. The quirk is for the reader: one detail that makes the person real on the page.

Questions